Leave it in the lobby: Things not to say in an interview

Imagine this:

You come across a job posting online. Everything seems like the perfect fit. You have all the education, background and requirements they are looking for. The position is at a great company that's known for taking care of its employees. The benefit package is amazing and the salary is even better than you expected. And best of all, it seems they want you—you’ve landed an interview with their HR department.

When you get into the interview, you sell yourself brilliantly. You go over strengths and weaknesses and how you’d handle job situations. Everything is going swell and as you are getting ready to leave, you thank your interviewer for the opportunity. You say that it’s your dream job. The HR rep flashes you what might have been a forced smile and says that they will let you know.

Two weeks pass, and you finally hear back. You didn’t get the job. You wonder what went wrong?


According to a survey released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 69% of hiring managers say that “this is my dream job” is the phrase that they least like to hear.

So remember, leave the clichés in the lobby. They sound insincere and can actually damage your chances of a successful interview. Focus on selling yourself and how the company would benefit from your experience, not the other way around.